469. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were invited to acknowledge any declarable interests, including the nature and extent of such interests that they may have in any items to be considered at this meeting.

470. OPEN FORUM

Mr and Mrs Crimp were in attendance and wished to speak with regard to a proposed planning application next door to them. Mrs Crimp explained that they wished to object to Midships Knowle Road, Salcombe. The current bungalow was to be replaced by a house which was only partially positioned on the existing footprint and access would be directly off the road junction. With the additional vehicles during building this could cause problems especially to the bus route. The existing property was a two bedroom bungalow and they were led to believe by the owners that an extension would be enough for them but it was never built. Now they were applying for a six bedroom and five bathroom property by demolishing and replacing the bungalow with a timber and contemporary design which she felt was not in keeping with adjacent properties. Their main objection was the scale of the proposed house at 20m long, 10.6 m deep and 8.1 metres above the existing ground level which would put their property Aldoma in the shade, especially earlier in the year due to overshadowing. The decking extended to a maximum of 7 m well beyond what they ever anticipated. The proposal almost touched their existing boundary wall and the shape and siting of the northwest wing and decking would have considerable effect on all neighbours. Aldoma would be completely overlooked and the decking area would overlook in particular their small patio area. Therefore the North West wing impinged on their privacy and had considerable impact on their quality of life style. Mrs Crimp appealed to Town and District to consider their objections on size, siting, design and quality of life due to amenity intrusion.

The owners of Midships had lived in Hope Cove for 8 years and outgrown the property there and said they were trying to make a home in Salcombe. His mother was coming to join them in the new house and he indicated it was to be pointing in a completely different direction to Aldoma. The height of the existing bungalow was 1 metre below everyone else but by increasing by 2m they could take it to a house. He suggested that people would not see the full house as the ground dropped so low and they would only see the top half. Due to the garden layout they could see into everyones garden but likewise the neighbours could see back again and he appealed to Town Council that the house was not to be as big as was being made out.

Nigel McCoy director of the shop Bibi and Mac had sent a letter by email already with regard to the application for 56 Fore Street and was just in attendance to say how important this matter was to them and reiterate their concerns with regard to the possibility of an ongoing project by the applicant which would include, as stated by the landlord, the potential of taking back some of the shop area. He advised that the applicant had purchased this property, as it was currently used, knowing the retail element and there had been no consultation or compromise before submitting the application. Richard Atkinson Architects and been asked by the applicant for 56 Fore Street to speak in favour of this application. He explained that there were four elements to this building proposal. The replacement of an A symmetric dormer with symmetrical dormers which were not visible from Fore Street nor the jetty, the main façade of house would be restored in architectural details together with minor internal bits like opening up the ground floor reception and relocation of the bathroom. The fourth element which was of most concern to the tenants was a window at the back of the shop as an extension would completely fill the light well. In relation to the shop he confirmed there was no change whatsoever intended to the retail footprint or size only a change and relocation of a rooflight at the back. There would be acoustic, thermal and fire protection in the shop and modified back but in no way would it reduce it.

Cty Cllr Gilbert Report – He asked if there were any lollipop people in town as after the County cuts they would now stay for another year as the proposal for saving £100000 was scrapped. The proposal to reduce road gritting in winter had also been scrapped. There was a further £100 000 set aside as a cushion for some bus routes that would be considered to be closed due to lack of use. The grit bins would continue to be filled by County and not parishes and towns also.

However the bad news was County Council tax would rise by 1.99% which represented 44 pence per week on a Band D as the maximum increase allowed without triggering a referendum. There had been another major land slip at Thurlstone on the coastal path but it was re-opened. A libraries update would be done another time to allow something more definitive to be fed back and give Salcombe Friends of the Library a chance to progress matters.

Coles Cross, East Allington was bad highway wise and that issue was being resolved in the new fiscal year as quickly as County could as the area had been flooded and the road broken up and some serious engineering work were required. He mentioned this as it was an important junction for tradespeople.

Although a District matter Dist. Cllr Mrs Pearce asked that Cllr Gilbert explain this matter. The Aylesford Company recycling was a company that covered the whole of the United Kingdom based in Kent and hauled all waste predominantly for newspaper and cardboard for this Southern area. Sadly the company had gone to the wall. This was not so serious for South Hams District because they had another company that collected and took waste to this group whereas councils in London and Kent boroughs would have to hold the waste until another company could be found. Unfortunately though at present South Hams District could only achieve £5 per ton whereas they had been receiving £35 per ton from Aylesford so to the council tax payer this was a £15000 per month loss of income. He hoped that Aylesford would be bought out soon as everything was currently being shipped overseas. The recycling rate for South Hams would not drop as the waste was being taken away by the other company to be held in other boroughs. The financial cost was very serious for other councils rather than South HamsCllr Gilbert left the meeting.

Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce Report – There was not much to report as District had not had any meetings apart from development management. The Lidstone potato application at Churchstow had been withdrawn as a further objection came from an expert and therefore needed consideration. Whilst this could be looked at the delay was serious for Mr Lidstone who wished to get on with the development and his business.

Cllr Valentine enquired what was happening at the planning department as he had met a planner who said everyone was resigning. Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce explained that last week all planning officers remaining had their interviews for the positions available after the T18 restructure and many had decided not to re-apply as they were reaching retirement. Therefore her concern was the historic knowledge they were losing. There were currently lots of contractors working who were extremely competent and good but it all depended on whether District could obtain and people and keep applications flowing through. Cllr Valentine asked if there were any time scales for resolution of this problem. The problem was that there was a shortage of planners in general throughout the country with development taking off and the private sector pinching a lot of good planners from the public sector. Cllr Cohen asked how to what extent there was of local objection to the potato plant? She responded that to be honest she did not really know but maybe there were 20 objections on line but the heft of the objectors collectively had employed a barrister to send in an opinion. Had alternative and perhaps more appropriate sites been suggested? No because there was no requirement to do this for agricultural enterprises.

471. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting dated 11th March 2015 were approved by council and then duly signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.

472. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

The following applications were considered and such observations from town council submitted to District.
• 0450/15/F Demolition of existing bungalow and replacement with new house and detached garage and associated works Midships, Knowledge Road, Salcombe TQ8 8EQ – Applicant Mrs G. White –Objection. This application was felt to be overdevelopment of the site as the actual footprint was more than double the size of the current footprint together with the large decking area. The current ridge height was slightly below adjoining properties but the proposal made the building including the ridge half as big again and would then become level with the existing adjacent ridge heights and certain windows would be overlooking. Therefore this was felt to be overbearing as it was now visible from the road and certainly from Onslow Road. This would present significant impact due to its design which was different to other buildings in the vicinity with an expanse of glass high up and facing Onslow Road. Town Council was also concerned with regard to the siting of a new garage as this would involve removal of a mature tree although they were not aware of a TPO but would ask the Planning Officer to check.

Town Council raised the concern that pre application discussion appeared to have indicated that this application was acceptable and were disappointed to see this in an application as it was not relevant. If the District planning department gave this steer it had given the applicant the wrong impression. Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce noted that the pre application discussion was only to point out what would not be approved but officers could not say anything else. People obviously would hear what they wanted not what was said and as such it was merely guidance.
• 0459/15/F Householder application for demolition of existing rear extension and garage, construction of new garage and first floor two storey extension to rear (resubmission of 41/3110/14/F) Athelstan, Onslow Road, Salcombe TQ8 8AG – Applicant Mr and Mrs M. Weaver – No objection.
• 0462/15/F Householder application for restoration including first floor rear extension to form kitchen, new dormers on rear of main pitched roof and interior renovation 56 Fore Street, Salcombe TQ8 8ET – Applicant Mrs D. Martin – No objection. However due to the economic viability of the shop below a site meeting took place with town council meeting the owner/landlord, architect and tenant. In view of the discussions within this meeting a response of no objection was put forward so long as certain conditions were included in the permission to cover the following. Obscured glass was agreed by the architect and owner to both dormers. They also agreed that the light source and ventilation would be replaced to the rear area of the shop due to removal of two opening sky lights that would be totally covered by the proposed kitchen enlargement.
All building works must occur at the quietest time of year i.e. Pre-Christmas, October – mid December and/or January – March finishing before Easter. This would reduce disruption to the existing business at the property. Although possibly not a planning consideration this was required as a condition to reduce major disruption to the town economy as materials delivery would have an impact on traffic movement and cause significant disruption subsequently affecting tourism and businesses. The owner/applicant and architect agreed to this at the meeting. It was advised that the applicant was trying to negotiate with the owner of Harbour Lights up on Devon Road to the rear of the property so that they may take materials delivery from the rear as this would ease the burden of front of property deliveries but they were not confident that permission would be granted..
Cllr Cohen left the meeting as did the people with regard to the Midships application and Richard Atkinson.
• 0463/15/LB Listed Building consent for restoration including first floor rear extension to form kitchen, new dormers on rear of main pitched roof and interior renovation 56 Fore Street, Salcombe TQ8 8ET – Applicant Mrs D. Martin – As above.
• 0475/15/F Replacement of existing timber handrails and guardings to external common areas with new stainless steel rails and clear glass panels Monkston Point, Devon Road, Salcombe TQ8 8LP –Applicant Monkston Point (Management) Ltd. – No objection.
Nigel McCoy left the meeting.
• 0530/15/F Householder application for extension of roof space to create new floor to existing property (resubmission of 41/3114/14/F) Amethyst 2 Russell Court, Salcombe, TQ8 8BU – Applicant Mr T. Goodwin – Objection. Although the applicant had reduced the height town council still felt that there would be significant impact with regard to light for neighbouring properties.
• 0571/15/LB Listed building consent for demolition of steel post and 2no. Steel beams within ground floor changing rooms and replace structure with new single beam spanning from existing masonry internal partition wall to existing front wall Lifeboat Station, Union Street, Salcombe TQ8 8BZ – Applicant RNLI – No objection.
• 0581/15/VAR Variation to condition 2 (approved plans) to householder consent 41/1037/13/F (amendments to roof and external finishes) and provision of balcony Roseland, Main Road, Salcombe TQ8 8AA – Applicant Ms. E. McLarty – No objection.

PLANNNG CORRESPONDENCE

• Most correspondence already received emailed to town council.
Dist Cllr Mrs Pearce left the meeting.

473. JUBILEE GARDENS

It was AGREED that the works to tarmac the lower section of the access footpath and put in place edging stones along the border bed be given to Dart Surfacing.

474. EMERGENCY PLAN

DEFERRED.

475. PARK AND RIDE BUS ADVERTISING

It was suggested that only those with premises were hand dropped leaflets outlining how to express an interest and yet there were trip boats and other business off Whitestrand which could want to advertise. There had been significant interest in advertising on the back of the bus so the Town Clerk was asked to respond requesting their best and final offer and whether if unsuccessful they would be interested in a side panel with responses by 31st March. Also to advise if they would not be interested if other organisations of similar nature of theirs were advertising on the bus.

The Town Council article in the Gazette would include information and something could be put on Items for Sale on Facebook. The Expression of Interest would be sent to all councillors with the due deadline date changed.

It was AGREED that the Finance Group would decide on the first tranche of allocation from the bids submitted by 31st March on 1st April. Any further expressions from the advertisement in Items for Sale in the South Hams on Facebook and the Gazette would be requested to respond by Tuesday 14th April.

476. CREATING NEW BEDDING AREA AT TOP OF ONSLOW ROAD

Devon County Council had granted permission for the bedding area on Main Road at the juncture with Onslow Road Licence Number LA/989.

It was AGREED that as Bayleaf had been chosen as the contractor for this area and within this quote advised the development/planting of this new bedding area would cost £1570 plus VAT and a further cost for removing and disposing of the old boat they should be asked to proceed. Cllr Fice, Bricknell and Lang would meet with Bayleaf to discussing the planting programme

477. MAYOR’S REPORT

The Mayor noted the forthcoming purdah period and explained such conduct to town council. The forms for nomination needed to be handed into District and he advised he would take any others with him the following if others wished him to.

He and the Town Clerk met with Adam Parnell Harbourmaster. Adam Parnell had suggested within the meeting that he felt there should be a town council representative on the Harbour Board. The Harbour Board had also offered to pay to keep the Whitestrand public toilets open all year round with no charge. He seemed keen to be working with town council as he acknowledged he was responsible for the water and town council the land and yet currently there was no working interaction. This boded well for future discussions as this is what town council had been saying for some years since the change.

478. COUNCILLORS REPORTS

Cllr Wheeler – The agenda for the Port User Group was an overview of what the group was about. In the past Byelaws were imposed on the Harbour but they had to go to Parliament and this took ages to achieve but with this new group they could tailor and create new rules like administration of the fairway and make decisions through consultation and pilot some ideas. Ideally they would meet four times a year but if anything was needed they would meet in between. It was like a stakeholders group not necessarily Salcombe based but some Kingsbridge people and all organisations were covered. The new Harbourmaster appeared unbiased and unfettered with historical political events and able to rise above matters to work with everyone and was very open to suggestions so all looked healthy. The Mayor asked if the group was representative and it was thought perhaps not but this could evolve with time. This group would feed into the Harbour Board and it was noted that hardly anybody turned up at Harbour Board meetings to speak in open forum.

Timber cut down at the Berry Woods had been taken and people were up there again with chainsaws and neighbours had advised and there was a problem. A truck that was marked and named was seen and the company apologised and the wood taken went back but by Monday evening it had all gone again. This situation could escalate and people may start to chop branches off trees. Will Hampton was a professional and had relevant insurance and knew what he was doing and logs laid with chippings placed for use. However these uninvited scavengers, local people and some businesses, just take logs. It was suggested removing any timber and storing. This was however not just people going up for their own consumption but large amounts were being taken on a commercial basis. The general perception from the company when a councillor rang to complain was that they were allowed to because they ‘had permission’ but these were phantom permissions and no names could be provided. There needed to be signs ‘Do not remove wood from here’ but what would happen about enforcement? The link Road off unmade St. Dunstans and also Fortescue Road were being used to park up and take the wood and they were even reversing in from Herbert Road and loading up. Signs would now need to be made and placed up at The Berry stating it was not allowed before enforcement could be pursued.

Noted that the handrail section was missing and another part the squashed further up Market Street.
Toby Leigh left the meeting.
Cllr Lang – Noted contractors had nearly finished the new steps from the footpath onto Shadycombe Road. What did need doing was the path clearing since it had become overgrown. He enquired whether at The Berry there was any mulch left as Angela from Cranch’s wanted some for the area at Buckley Street and advised she had planted bulbs that would soon be coming up.

CLERK’S REPORT.

• Noted enquiry made by RNLI to Harbour Master with regard to District providing a Heli landing pad adjacent to the water. Simon Evans asked Adam Parnell last year to approach SHDC to see if it would be possible to nominate a dedicated Heli Landing Zone (HLZ) somewhere in Salcombe so that if they needed to CASEVAC someone brought ashore by the Lifeboat (or any other reason for that matter) the heli would know where to go. Adam Parnell wondered if the Town Council had any ideas and whether they could add support to this request.
• In view of the Local Council Award Scheme being launched in January 2015 with an invite for all current members to be awarded the Foundation Award for one year to January 2016 and this had been applied for and received.
• Letter of delight and thanks received from May Crimp with regard to receiving the Citizen of the Year Award.
• BT again were inviting communities to adopt their remaining phone boxes for £1.
• Devon County had removed the budget for grass cutting but now advised that for the 2015 – 16 year they would contribute £226 a drop of £271 from £497the previous year for town council to carry out the cutting of their urban verges.
• The new Treasurer Charmaine Fowler and Secretary Jamie Fowler for the Allotment Association had delivered the Agreements for the plots newly let this year together with a cheque for £321.75 rental. They currently had a half plot and quarter plot vacant. The Agreements would be duly signed by the Town Clerk.
• Discuss any signage or interpretation board required for The Berry to do with timber laid down and its removal.
• Malborough Parish Council had passed over the proportion of the joint TAP fund monies £637 which were obtained during 2013/14 but then Malborough could not use them as the project was deemed not able to move forward by County Health and Safety. Therefore these monies had been passed to Salcombe Town Council for maintenance on their section following the District agreement for this transfer and change to funding criteria.
• Chris Rook advised that County legal had confirmed that all was in order for permits to be provided at the Park and Ride under the legislation used by County. Town Council now needed to consider if they wished permits, how long/period and how many to be offered. Signs needed to be marked up on a map with intended locations before order and Chris Watkins was to make contact with regard to surfacing and measurements for ordering telegraph posts/railway sleepers. The bases were in for the height restriction but still awaited the barrier.
• On the matter of Bonaventure Wood a response would be sent that an expert assessment of the works required within the wood had just been carried out. The residents had offered to assist keeping the wood clear and they felt the ivy was a concern. Mr Alcock stated that other residents wished some trees reduced in height and he was asking for an opportunity to meet and discuss. Regular professional reviews were undertaken on this wood and a tree management programme in place and therefore nothing was required at present.